There is known a parking brake operating device that includes: (a) a lever body that includes a proximal end portion whose section has a substantially inverted U-shape, and an operating portion with a substantially cylindrical shape, the proximal end portion being arranged across a support member and pivotally supported; (b) a pole that is pivotally arranged inside the proximal end portion of the lever body, and restricts pivoting movement of the lever body so as to maintain a parking brake in an operating state when the pole is meshed with a ratchet provided in the support member in accordance with an urging force of urging means; and (c) a release rod that is connected to the pole so as to be able to pivot relative to the pole, and causes the pole to pivot so that the pole is disengaged from the ratchet when a release knob projecting from a distal end of the operating portion is pushed in (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing an example of such a parking brake operating device, and a lever body 12 of an operating lever 10 is pivotally supported by a semicircular support member 14 through a support shaft 16. The lever body 12 is formed by pressing a metallic plate material. As shown in FIG. 9, the lever body 12 includes a proximal end portion 20 which has a pair of substantially flat side walls 18 and whose section has a substantially inverted U-shape, and an operating portion 22 with a substantially cylindrical shape. The proximal end portion 20 is arranged across the substantially vertical plate-shaped support member 14, and is pivotally supported by a substantially horizontal support shaft 16. A connecting pin 24 is fixedly fitted to the proximal end portion 20 across the side walls 18 on both sides, and is inserted through a through hole 26 provided in the support member 14 along an arc about the support shaft 16. The cylindrical operating portion 22 of the lever body 12 is a portion that is gripped by a driver and pivoted about the support shaft 16, and a grip 28 made of a synthetic resin is fitted to the periphery of the operating portion 22. When the grip 28 is gripped and the operating lever 10 is pivoted about the support shaft 16 in a clockwise direction, a cable or the like (not shown) is pulled, and thus, a parking brake is operated. In FIG. 9, a reference numeral 16h in the lever body 12 indicates a fitting hole for the support shaft 16, and a reference numeral 24h indicates a fitting hole for the connecting pin 24.
A pole 30 is arranged inside the proximal end portion 20 of the lever body 12, and is pivotally fitted to a pole pin 32 that is parallel to the support shaft 16. When the pole 30 is meshed with a ratchet 34 provided in the support member 14, backward pivoting movement of the operating lever 10 is restricted (pivoting movement about the support shaft 16 in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 8 is restricted), and a parking brake is maintained in an operating state. A release rod 38, which is connected to the pole 30 so as to be able to pivot relative to the pole 30, is arranged so as to be inserted through the operating portion 22 in an axial direction. When a release knob 40 projecting from a distal end of the operating portion 22 is pressed in, the pole 30 is pivoted about the pole pin 32 in a clockwise direction through the release rod 38, and thus, the pole 30 is disengaged from the ratchet 34. This allows the operating lever 10 to pivot about the support shaft 16 backward in the counterclockwise direction so as to release the parking brake. A reference numeral 32h in the lever body 12 in FIG. 9 indicates a fitting hole for the pole pin 32.
A compression coil spring 46 is arranged between the release knob 40 and the operating portion 22, urges the release knob 40 in a direction in which the release knob 40 projects from the distal end of the operating portion 22, and urges the pole 30 through the release rod 38 in a meshing direction in which the pole 30 is meshed with the ratchet 34 (a counterclockwise direction about the pole pin 32), thereby allowing the pole 30 and the ratchet 34 to mesh with each other. In both side surfaces of the operating portion 22, securing lugs 48, to which the compression coil spring 46 is secured, are provided by cutting out a U-shaped portion from each of the both side surfaces of the operating portion 22, and bending the U-shaped portion inwardly (see FIG. 9). The compression coil spring 46 corresponds to urging means.
A pivot connecting portion 42, by which the release rod 38 is connected to the pole 30 so as to be able to pivot relative to the pole 30, is bent to be offset by about a half of a plate thickness of the pole 30 in a direction perpendicular to a pivot plane of the operating lever 10 (a direction perpendicular to a sheet surface of FIG. 8) so that the pole 30 and an axis of the release rod 38 are positioned in substantially the same plane (see FIG. 9). In a distal end of the release rod 38, a distal end bent portion 44, which is bent by 90 degrees, is provided, and the pole 30 is connected to the distal end bent portion 44 so as to be able to pivot relative to the distal end bent portion 44. In an upper part of the proximal end portion 20 of the lever body 12, in other words, in the vicinity of a circularly-bent portion in an inverted U-shape, a housing portion 18s, in which a distance between the pair of side walls 18 is large, is provided so that the release rod 38 and the pivot connecting portion 42 are housed therein. On the other hand, in a lower portion of the proximal end portion 20, which is located on both sides of the support member 14, the distance between the pair of side walls 18 is small, and the lower portion is substantially in contact with side surfaces of the support member 14. Also, flanges 18f, which are bent by substantially 90 degrees outwardly, are provided in lower end edges of the proximal end portion 20, and thus, stiffness of the proximal end portion 20 is increased.